Zhi Ming You Xi

Ok... Now, few hours after finishing, I think I'm ready to write this review. When I heard it was banned but Chinese fans were smart enough to download all episodes, I was really excited to watch this. In the end, not dissapointed.

I totally loved all main characters, even tho I was kinda lost in their names, but that is fault of not official subtitles, which I truly hope will get better. LJS and RZM were amazing and their chemistry really did spark. To be honest, I'm not surprised Chinese government had to ban this drama, but it's pitty, because the story was just perfect. In the first place, this is drama about dangoerous deadly game and few people trying to survive. BL aspect was just part of it. I'm about to read novel, so I 'm looking forward the scenes which didn't make it up the drama.

I don't really like horrors so I was asking myself: "Am I really watch this just bcs is censored BL?" The answer was clear, to be honest... But I really loved the story. Sometimes it was really scary, sometimes not. Sometimes I felt butterflies in my belly, sometimes I fet like I'm about cry the whole night.

Every single doors containes different story and characters have to find clues and find our what's goin on. It's not easy, but when they work together, it's not even hard. The story is full of tension which made me watch whole drama in few days and I really recommend this one.

But I have some reservations towards the ending. I mean, I can't say I didn't like, but neither that I did. The last scene just doesn't make sense to me. Overall. I really enjoy this. If you are afraid it's just bromance and you want BL, don't care. Yes, it is bromance, but as I said before, I'm not surprised China bannes it.

SPOILER ALERT >>> I haven't read novel yet, so maybe I just didn't get it correctly, but why did he have to make whole new world? Why not just new NPC? I mean, it was possible for his friend to create NPC which is able to come out of game, so why not do it again? I know it's not easy, but this is supernatural or rather kind of scifi show and it was possible one time. Why not again? And I would like to know who was that friend from high school.

I was hesitant to watch this at first, I didn't quite understand from edits why there was many people and it confused me, but EVERY character left a deep.impression on me.

I loved everyone of them, everything about them, how they illustrated them and how they ended up, the stories in the doors even had me crying so hard, I was a bit disappointed at the ending, I didn't like that he lost them to reality, and I know people didn't quite like it, but it reminded me of"the lamp looked weird" so I cried so hard at how he lived his life with a dream just to live in a virtual reality where he could live with RL like he promised, "If you could live in a harsh real world, or a safe virtual reality, which would you choose?" "Wherever you are" I absolutely cannot, I just can't, it's super sad but super good.

Very good adaptation that I'm honestly shocked made it onscreen. Pros: great cast (Xia Zhiguang and Liu Xiaobei are incredible standouts), strong storytelling, fast yet natural pacing, very good cinematography. Some of the door storylines and truly heartbreaking, and the final major door (Box Demon) is absolutely insane in terms of twists, plot development, and emotion. The chemistry between the leads leaves absolutely nothing to be desired, and all of the supporting cast are very strong as well. Highly recommend. I'm grateful we got an intentional release despite this show being banned in China.

There are lots of lines and moments that made me questioning like "how could this passed censorship?" bc it'd only making sense to show the main leads relationship in romantical way, not platonic. "It was a happy ending!" lol who are you fooling? Ending suck asf i cried even after rewatched it 10 times T_T It's just painful and hurting me fr i was breathless and crying for 3 hours nonstop. But why do i give it 10/10? The friendship and brothership in this drama are so heavy (except for the mainleads bc they're into each other) i really love the way they made the supporting roles to leave such a strong impact on watchers as well. And it gives the novel 70% justice imho. 2024 MASTERPIECE and i say this as a LA hater type of novel reader *smug* Case closed!

The video game-loving Lin Jiushi finds himself in a VR game that feels more real than reality itself. Along the way, he meets the group Obsidian and their leader Ruan Lan Zhu. The games behind the doors are designed like escape rooms, and anyone who breaks (initially unknown) rules pays for it with their life. Whoever dies in the video game soon dies in real life as well.

The appeal of the series lies in the variety and creativity of the individual game levels. The show also takes its time to develop the main characters. A deep friendship-essentially a bromance-develops between the two leads. All of this is incredibly charming.

I would deduct a few points for the depiction of a psychiatric hospital set in the U. S. Not only are all the staff portrayed as Asian, but all the signage remains in Chinese. One might consider this a bit illogical. There are also undertones of anti-American sentiment in the series, with a general message that evil capitalism threatens the pure Chinese video game. But to be fair, this reversal of good and evil is often just as clichéd in the other direction in Western media.

Ultimately, though, the series is simply so well made and thrilling that I still think it's brilliant. And without spoiling anything: the ending-often a weak point in Korean dramas-turns out to be surprisingly well thought out in this Chinese series. It puts everything in a new light and ties many threads together.

A truly fantastic series that's so addictive, 38 episodes just aren't enough.